Thursday, June 01, 2006

TV Land's 'My First Time' Episode Info Released; SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Comparing U.S. & Canadian 'Kate & Allie', 'Gimme a Break' DVDs!

TV Land will revisit the first major career milestones of some of America's favorite TV stars with the premiere of My First Time. The six-part series, produced for TV Land by Scott Sternberg Productions, will debut on Wednesday, June 28 in its regularly scheduled timeslot of 10 p.m. ET/PT and will air through August 2. Renown actor, producer and director Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Hollywood Squares) and actress Katey Sagal (Married...with Children, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) are featured in the first episode.
Bolstered by original interviews with each star profiled, every 30-minute episode will trace the first "big break" of some of the biggest and brightest talents in Hollywood. Fellow cast members, producers, agents, directors and others who were part of making that first moment happen will also be interviewed for the series. Additionally, each show will contain rare footage from performances that many fans -- and maybe the stars themselves - forgot existed... and some clips that these performers would probably rather forget. My First Time also gives an intimate look at the stars' lives as they were then, their hopes for that first part and how they feel looking back at that moment in time.

The series rollout is as follows (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET/PT):
Wednesday, June 28: Henry Winkler and Katey Sagal
Wednesday, July 5: Ted Danson and John O'Hurley
Wednesday, July 12: Jim Belushi and Sarah Gilbert
Wednesday, July 19: John Schneider and Dean Cain
Wednesday, July 26: Cheryl Ladd and Glenn Campbell
Wednesday, August 2: Mr. T and Cybil Shepherd

For more details click here.

We have yet another exclusive for you. We recently obtained the Canadian DVDs for Gimme a Break! and Kate & Allie from VEI. I'm sure most of you saw the Canadian Gimme a Break! review last week. It is very similar to the U.S. one from Universal Home Video, content wise. So, it is up to you which one you want to buy. I'd buy both if I were a huge fan. Some might like the packaging better on the VEI set over the Universal set, or vice versa.
Last night we put our review up of the VEI Kate & Allie release. The Universal version only contains season one, and that has 3 of the 6 episodes edited. The VEI version has the first two seasons in a similar price. So, most fans were waiting to buy this version, rather than Universal's. I do have some disappointing news to report. It seems there are syndicated versions of episodes on this set, too. I don't think it is VEI's fault at all. Looks like distributor FremantleMedia gave them the episodes that way. In fact the same season one episodes on the Universal set that are edited, are edited on VEI's. There are a few more from season two that are edited, too. What I don't understand is how Universal would get edited episodes, because they distribute the show in the U.S., while FremantleMedia does it internationally. I'm sure many fans are bummed out, but I would still buy VEI's version of this set because it is nearly the same price and it contains two seasons, rather than just one. You can read our review of the Canadian version of the Kate & Allie DVD here.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 24

The Conners - "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners relish national cheeseball day as a family. Meanwhile, Harris falls behind in her work duties at the Lunch Box, and Darlene and Ben must figure out how to spend time together despite their two separate schedules.

Not Dead Yet - "Not the End Yet" / "Not a Ghost Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell finds out that Duncan is selling the SoCal Independent, so she takes matters into her own hands to save her job when Lexi seems unwilling to help. Then, Nell navigates an unexpected incident that leaves the sale of the newspaper on hold.

Animal Control - "Skunks and Swans" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Shred take on an aggressive swan; Shred has a meet-cute with a mysterious woman; Emily makes a mistake that results in Victoria having very little time to prepare for her big exam; Patel gets his father to help Victoria cram for the test.

Family Guy - "A Stache From the Past" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Peter loses the Griffins' home in a reverse mortgage, he and Mayor West travel to confront the man advertising the scheme, Tom Selleck; Stewie and Brian open a booth at the flea market, leading to a rivalry with Bruce.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)

Wednesday, April 24

  • Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Watch Carol on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) and Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Lisa and Michaela are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • John Early (Search Party) - John appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - E! News has an interview with Tiffany at 11pm on E!.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
  • Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry talks about Unfrosted on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan talks about NBC's Lopez vs Lopez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie, a fan-favorite on The Good Wife, tells Sherri about her new show Elsbeth on Sheri, so check your local listings.
  • Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry has a cooking demo on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray

Father Knows Best - The Complete Series Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series

12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)

The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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03/27 - The Upshaws Part 5 This April; Max Orders Noah Wyle Medical Drama
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